Cane toads: Queensland TikTok star catches, cooks and eats pests

A Queensland TikTok star known for making bizarre cooking videos has crossed a new line in his latest video, but he believes there is an appetite in Australia’s culinary scene for cane toad on the menu. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

TikTok star Ian Bartholomew catches, cooks and eats cane toads during a recent trip to North Queensland.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Queensland TikTok star Ian Bartholomew has crossed a bizarre new line in his latest video, catching, cooking and eating wild cane toads.

The stomach-churning video was posted to Tiktok on Tuesday and has drawn confused comments from Mr Bartholomew’s 100,000 followers.

Speaking with News Corp Australia, he said the idea came about after a few drinks while visiting some mates in North Queensland.

“I have always looked at frogs legs and thought why couldn’t we eat toads legs,” Mr Bartholomew said.

The cane toad was introduced to Australia in 1935 in an ill-fated attempt to control the native grey-backed cane beetle.

This short sighted decision led to an explosion in their numbers and they were easily able to out compete native frogs and amphibians.

TikiTok star Ian Bartholomew cooks and eats cane toad legs in a new video.

There are now more than 200 million in the country, and have been known to spread diseases to other critters.

Part of their success lies in the toxin that oozes from their shoulders which deters most predators

But not Ian.

“I didn’t do any research but I figured if you fry them in hot enough oil all the pus and stuff would be cooked out,” he said.

“I have not seen it done before, but it has been a day and I don’t have any tummy problems.

“It was all very humane, we put them in the freezer first then stabbed them through the head and chopped their little leggies off.”

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Mr Bartholomew coated the legs in flour before shallow frying them and sharing them with two mates.

“They were much like frogs legs and tasted a bit like spongy chicken,” he said.

“But we offered one to the dog and they wouldn’t go near them.”

Since their introduction into Queensland’s sugar cane farms, the slimy pest has spread across much of the state and is even found as far south as Sydney

In that time there were many suggestions of how to halt their invasion including processing their carcass into liquid fertiliser or using their skin to make leather.

Mr Bartholomew said eating them would be a start.

“Think you need to cook the really big one and next time I will skin them,” he said.

“I thought the skin would go crispy like chicken skin but that wasn’t the case, it was a bit rubbery.

Ian Bartholomew, pictured with his dog Zeta, has developed a reputation for making odd cooking videos. Picture: Nev Madsen.

“I think a toad leg restaurant would go off just for the novelty factor alone.

“You could cook them in various styles, like French or Chinese.

Mr Bartholomew posts Tiktok video under his account IndiaAlphaNovember and is known for cooking gourmet meals in squalid conditions.

Originally published as Cane toads: Queensland TikTok star catches, cooks and eats pests